2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina, Dec 10 - 12

[DChemTech]

It’s unbelievable that both drivers really behaved well and drive great races but the FIA still independently found a way to **** it all up and ruin the race and the season.

Have to agree with you there. And just why. RB won on strategy if the regular restart procedure was followed, or MB won on strategy if they left the SC to finish, but FIA somehow made it controversial by screwing around with overtaking.

[e30ernest]

Max summoned by the stewards for overtaking under the safety car.

I just dont believe this.
What did Max do wrong?
Not more opportunity incompetence by Masi.

During the safety car restart, Max' nose clearly goes ahead of Lewis' nose during the period they were side by side.

[Dr. Acula]

It's a very bad signal for the "sport" in general if rules are breached by flavour of the day by the stewards themselves. And if you cannot foresee if and how the rules apply the teams need to have influence on the ones that should watch over the rules. Else you could sack all those pages with F1 rules at all, because obviously it boils down to some emperor raising or lowering his thumb.

Well, certainly not the first time something like this happens. Does anyone remember Monaco 2010? The Stuarts executed the rules wrong, which lead to Schumacher overtoke Alonso in basically in the last corner. Afterwards they penalized a driver for a mistake they did.

[Restomaniac]

The FIA have screwed this up SO much. My bet? They revert the result per the rules and fire Masi as the sacrificial lamb.

[dans79]

Mercedes has protested Max!

https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files ... rcedes.pdf
https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files ... 048.8).pdf

And the FIA under article 48.12
https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files ... 48.12).pdf
https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files ... 48.12).pdf

[Holm86]

I don't feel Masi is his job worthy, way too inconsistent

[Hoffman900]

I'm going to be honest, the result won't change. But I can guarantee Michael Masi will be fired. And if not that's a bigger crime than what's happened here.

Agreed.

It sucks because Max and Lewis did everything they there suppose to do to keep it a sport.

Like I said, I could go either way if it came down to real racing. This just sucks for sport and exactly what Carlos Sainz said he was worried about, except it came from the FIA not the drivers.

Also, how about Carlos?! Favorite driver on the grid these days.

[El Scorchio]

I'm not a fan of either Hamilton or Verstappen, but this is not right for me how it comes to end ...

Finish behind the SC would be right than?

It would have been a huge anticlimax but yes, it would have been right. There wasn’t time to do what they tried to do under the safety car. They rushed it, they f’d up.

If the race was 59 laps then I don’t think there could be complaints from anyone. Just hard luck, but the FIA broke their own regs to get that result.

I don’t think anyone could possibly argue Hamilton didn’t deserve it if the race had ended under safety car.

[jknights]

The FIA have screwed this up SO much. My bet? They revert the result per the rules and fire Masi as the sacrificial lamb.

Well all I can say is there will be some really unhappy people both in the sport and out of it and that Masi deserves the boot!

[bonjon1979]

If he did overtake him under the safety car, that should be a penalty. Plain and simple. They won't apply it, he'll get a reprimand and liberty will hvae the winner they wanted all along. It's just a total fix, that race should've been red flagged or finished under the safety car. It's no longer a sport.

[oT v1]

The FIA have screwed this up SO much. My bet? They revert the result per the rules and fire Masi as the sacrificial lamb.

No shot! 1 sec penalty incoming for overtake under SC, and massi fired for the SC restart order.

Edit: sorry, 2.255 second penalty. OMGZ VES wins by 0.001

Result will stand

[Jolle]

If he did overtake him under the safety car, that should be a penalty. Plain and simple. They won't apply it, he'll get a reprimand and liberty will hvae the winner they wanted all along. It's just a total fix, that race should've been red flagged or finished under the safety car. It's no longer a sport.

Just re-watched the onboard. Looks like he did.

[SchuMassa]

What a farce.
Hopefully it will be cut short. Let Max celebrate his well-deserved title!

[El_KaPpa]

Rules are there to be followed. You can't suddenly decide to make your own rules up because you want 1 lap of racing despite knowing that variables had changed from when the accident had happened. Essentially Mercedes were penalised for not pitting Hamilton because the race director thought it to be right.

[zeph]

I'm not a fan of either Hamilton or Verstappen, but this is not right for me how it comes to end ...

Finish behind the SC would be right than?

It would have been a huge anticlimax but yes, it would have been right. There wasn’t time to do what they tried to do under the safety car. They rushed it, they f’d up.

If the race was 59 laps then I don’t think there could be complaints from anyone. Just hard luck, but the FIA broke their own regs to get that result.

I don’t think anyone could possibly argue Hamilton didn’t deserve it if the race had ended under safety car.

That's about the size of it. Then again, the Dutch say it was karma for what happened in turn 7 of lap 1.

I think it would have been better if Hamilton had given that place back as he had pace in spades.